One: those with artistry and the ability to land basic jumps, including 3-axels for men which will score highly if executed well and placed well within the choreography; at least 2 double axels (one in combination) will also suffice but the key will be whether the jumps are used effectively within the program, in addition to execution; one quad only in fp is okay if a competitor desires, but it is not required, not recommended and does not count greatly in the overall judging -- the main criteria will be creativity in program theme, choreography, costume, as well as the placement and usage of the jumps and other elements within the program to fully express the music.

Two: those with superior SS and technical ability who can land 2 or more quads and quads are required, but competitors must also be able to land 2 or more 3-axels (2-axels count very little for the men) -- artistic skills? meh, this division is about he-man jumping skills only -- the competitors are allowed to fall forward during landings, turn-out and 2-foot as much as they want, fall even, just as long as they make those revolutions.

Good for Joubert. Didn't know he had that in him. Impressed with Hanyu's fight too.

Chan skated great, of course we're all going to remember that fall/whatever that was because it was basically the last thing he did in the program... you have to give him credit though for doing two absolutely perfect quads and his overall quality of the skate.

No, if you look at the scores today, the gap wasn't insurmountable. Yuzuru's PC improved dramatically, and I believe he will only continue to challenge Patrick technically and artistically. There is no doubt that Yuzuru is the most talented 17 year old male skater in the world today, and will just continue to get better with time.

Someone mentioned Daisuke looked rather scared when Yuzuru's name was announced for the podium.....in a season or two, Yuzuru might overtake Daisuke to become Japan #1...

Yeah, but please Becki. Shortening the gap between Chan and his measly competitors who are "not in the same league" with him (according to one Canadian writer), was planned in advance. The shortening of the gap was planned to satisfy the criticisms and outcries over the judges' scoring, but it didn't work.

you have to give him credit though for doing two absolutely perfect quads and his overall quality of the skate.

And the judges certainly did with a lot of GOEs. That's something amazing and admiring about Chan. Whatever he did well, he did really really well. Even if he screwed up here and there, he somehow could hold it together and never give up.

Someone mentioned Daisuke looked rather scared when Yuzuru's name was announced for the podium.....in a season or two, Yuzuru might overtake Daisuke to become Japan #1...

Somehow I sincerely doubt that. He just doesn't seem like that kind of person. Dai's career had so many ups and downs, he hasn't got many world medals so far, he tends to be inconsistent, he also survived several talents like Oda and Kozuka.

I just love Dai's skating, he is truly artistic in my eyes and pushes the sport artistically. I also think Chan pushes the sport technically with that incredible intricacy he has. He just needs some, I don't know, artistic vision? I don't think he has an artistic direction, he dazzles with his technical skills to rousing music, which is a skill in its own right. I'd just really like it if he managed to develop further, adapt his skating to different genres. But then again, Plushy never did that and is doing / did just fine with that.

What a "drama". When did we last have a world champion that was boo-ed? Congrats to Chan on making one more Guiness record. And congrats to ISU on one more fat nail in the coffin "Popularity of FS". Poor Patrick. He couldn't collect the audience in his training rink in Colorado. He is as "popular" in Russia as Evan. Now he lost his business in Japan too. Who wants to see such an umai-ne-champ for 20, 000 yen for a ticket . I almost pity him.

Dai looked incredibly handsome and happy. He said to Fuji TV that of course he is glad that he got a silver medal but still he regrets that he didn't get a gold one. Next time he will do his best to get the gold. He also was very grateful to the French audience for all the support that they expressed to him . Dai-dude, they are French for a reason, with their taste in perfumes, fashion, wine and food. Of course they couldn't not fall in love with you. Enjoy it!

Yuzuru was overjoyed like a real 17yo kid. He said to TV that he still can't believe that he got a medal. He was very happy to be on the world podium together with Dai and Chan, this success gave him confidence and that since now and then he will try to be on the podium every time ! Well, he joined the noble company of Plush and Yag who both won a bronze medal on their first appearance at Wolds. Btw, for those who don't remember, when Plush was asked who he thinks can win the Worlds, he gave exactly these three names. And he was right.

It s not just the naive audience disagreeing about the pcs margin, examiner and John Kerr just tweeted about it and they know about fs right? Examiner is a huge fan of chan anyway.. it will be others too commenting on it..

Add to that the British Eurosport commentators - one of whom, Chris Howarth, is a Figure Skating Coach in the USA - the other, Simon Reed, has been commentating on the sport for 30 years.
They were both totally perplexed and outraged that Chan was 1st on the Free, and his PCS was completely overscored.

I found Chan's performance today boring, he had no facial expressions and the same arm and body movements all the way through with no variation. I don't care how brilliant his edges are - Skating should be a whole package of everything. The audience were not wrong.

As a Chan supporter I am happy for what he was able to accomplish at this Worlds. The pressure and the difficulty of defending the title were tremendous and he succeeded. It is an experience that will help him greatly next time.

Both Takahashi and Hanyu peaked at the right time and showed us their best. Kudos to them as well as a number of skaters who brought their games today.

I had to be away from the computer right after Patrick finished and came back to read about the booing and the expected complaints. I hope this experience will have similar effect as the Olympic debacle to spur Patrick on to soar higher from here.

Spots for 2013:
Three spots: Canada, Japan and France
Two spots: USA, Kazakhstan, Italy and Czech Republic
Lost spots: Russia and Spain (down to 1 spot)

Thanks for the tally. Abbott and Rippon did not do what they could here, and no excuses. Seriously, tho' who is the third guy going to be for France? I'll bet even Abbott and Rippon not at full strength and confidence could beat whoever that is. Even the U.S. men's 3 to 9 place guys could probably beat France's third.

With Worlds in their home country, Joubert and Amodio over-achieved and were rewarded. Neither of them are actually better than Abbott and Rippon, but it was up to Abbott and Rippon to show what they can do and they failed. The judges were fairly generous to both Abbott and Rippon in the sp, but understandably judges weren't about to help them out in the fp with other guys stepping up to skate more cleanly, even without the same above average artistic skills. Gosh, did Czisny's problems work on Abbott and Rippon and their coaches? Waayy too bad for the Detroit crew. Jeremy and Adam are so much better than they were able to show here. And there will be no do-overs. Confidence must somehow be accessed when you have the kind of talent that Adam and Jeremy possess.

The problem for AdaRipp and Jere is that the U.S. has a deep field of guys on the senior level and more are coming up from juniors too. Unlike such countries as France where Joubert can be sent to Worlds year after year after year, whether or not he is at full strength or hobbling on both legs.

I think the main problem is the incredibly STUPID corridor. If a judge dares to send a message, and his/her marks are out of the corridor, they face the fact that they might never judge again, and I think a big part of the problem lays right here. I know several judges, and they are scarred to death of the corridor.

Oh hell. What an excuse. Why they became judges in the first place. No other job market options?

Another admiring thing about Chan is that he is constantly improving. His artistry has shown significant improvement although not in the same league with Dai's yet in my opinion. I like the booing because the ISU has shut their ears to the fans for a long time. I don't like the booing because Chan is the one who feels the pain the most. He tried hard to defend his title. And he did, with hard work and skills.

I'm of the opinion that Chan needed to hear the message directly too. He has to take responsibility for his strategy of cramming as many points as possible into the program so that he wins regardless of "cleanliness" or artistic innovation. It's not just his team forcing him to do that.